Just a Start
by HaveAHeart0301
Summary: Each smile, each bit of information she could aquire from the Branded mage, was a start. Where it would lead to, she was unsure, but they were going somewhere at least. One-shot, for Chef Colette. Mia/Soren. Slight Ike/Nephenee, Mist/Rolf.


**Just a Start**

_A/N: Well, this is a request for Chef Colette. Originally, it was supposed to be a Mia/Soren AU, set in Twilight, but since I've never seen the movie or read the books, it was modified. Eventually, two other pairings were thrown in, and well, this is what I came up with. I hope the idea hasn't been done before...I don't think I've ever read a Mia/Soren, so I wouldn't know. Okay, well, enjoy?_

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_She watched as the wind and dust mixture expertly swirled through the air. Though Mia couldn't see whom this spell belonged to, she knew there was only one person that could pull it off so effectively. Looking around, she noticed Soren muttering various incantations from his spell book to use against the rebel soldiers in order to save the Lady Lucia._

_As she watched the frail mage, she noticed an enemy halberdier approaching him. She gasped as the man raised his lance, ready to attack. She quickly pulled out her Wo Dao and sliced the man through the chest, sending him falling to the ground._

_"Soren! Always lost in your books. What have I said about watching your back?" she scolded the man._

_She could see his scowl, and yet, she couldn't help but smile. At least he was acknowledging her presence...it was a start, right? But there was no time to think of such things, they had to defeat these rebels!_

_--_

Soren sighed as he sat down at his desk and opened up his wind tome, flipping through the pages. He was finally alone, finally free to do as he pleased. He had just finished up the group's latest battle plan for their attack on the Daein army tomorrow.

Everyone else was off chatting amongst themselves, or there were the rare few that valued training on their downtime. But Soren, Soren was working on mastering his latest wind spell. One could consider that training, in a sense, but the mage valued it as so much more. It was his tactics and his spells--both anima and healing--that kept his comrades alive.

So here he was, furiously studying from his Arcwind tome, but he couldn't help but think about something else. He wouldn't say that he was exactly close to anyone in their band of soldiers, save Ike, so he supposed he just always felt a bit left out. Sure, the Greil Mercenaries were great and all, but did they actually know him very well? Or rather, did he know _them_ very well?

Titania was like the group's mother--though he did recall Boyd saying that once and nearly getting his head chopped off, so...wise, older, female figure. Yes, that phrasing should keep him out of trouble. She was always there to provide them with her experienced decisions.

Mist and Rhys were their main healers. Both were able to keep everyone calm in dire situations and hold their own in battle. The three brothers brought a lot of comedy to the camp--though Soren couldn't exactly say that he cared for that. Oscar was pretty neutral in their arguments, but Boyd and Rolf....those two could fight up a storm.

Gatrie was just insane. Always chasing after girls--though in their camp there really weren't many women for him to go chasing after. Shinon was, well, Shinon. There really weren't words to explain him. He was rather rude, but he _could_ be helpful when he wanted to be.

Without any of the mercenaries, the whole company would fail. Soren knew that. They all had their own specialties. They all brought something different to the group.

Then there were the others. Queen Elincia was a just ruler. She was compassionate, but she could make a harsh decision when she needed to. The Lady Lucia was alright, he supposed. She didn't really bother him like the other nobles, but she was rather fiery and disobedient towards Ike at times.

Then, there was Mia... The newest recruit to the Greil Mercenaries was something else all right. She was spunky and, generally, just pretty fun. Soren didn't know why he seemed to like her so much, or why his thoughts always drifted to her, but it happened quite often.

But he shouldn't be thinking of such things now. There were more important things to be done... He needed to study this tome after all. He would have time to think about Mia later...much later.

--

Mist breathed deeply as she approached Titania's tent. She didn't know why she felt so nervous about going to speak with the older woman, but something just didn't feel right. She felt sick to her stomach, as though someone had punched her there.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and rapped gently on the tent flap. Within a few seconds, the paladin pushed the fabric aside, her eyes meeting Mist's.

"Oh, Mist, you don't look so well. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, it's fine. I just wanted to speak with you about...something."

"Of course, come right in."

She ushered the young Valkyrie inside. Once she was standing in the middle of the tent's floor, Mist noticed Lucia was also in Titania's company. The young girl smiled at her and the swordmistress did the same.

"Mist, it's nice to see you again. I can leave if you'd like to talk to Titania in private."

"N-No, it's fine. I'd like to get more than one opinion on this anyway," she said timidly.

The girl took a seat before Titania closed the flap and sat in between her and Lucia. She then turned to Mist.

"So, what would you like to speak with us about?"

She took a moment, searching for words, before beginning, "Well, you see, there's this boy I really like and, well..."

Lucia and Titania shared knowing glances. Both women knew where this was going, even though the brunette had trailed off in mid-sentence.

"You're afraid that he doesn't like you, correct?" Titania could barely contain her excitement as she questioned the girl. Being practically a mother figure to Ike's younger sister, she was quite excited to hear that she had her first real crush.

"Y-Yes, exactly. He doesn't really seem to like me much..."

"Mist, all men aren't going to be as forward as Gatrie or Count Bastian," Lucia nearly shuddered as she said the man's name. While Gatrie would likely flirt with any woman he saw, Bastian held affections for only the swordswoman herself. To say that she was irritated by this act was an understatement. Quite often she wished she could just stab him to end her misery, but she knew that wouldn't be 'proper' behavior in the eyes of the royal court.

Titania continued, "Yes, Lucia's right...not very many men would be that forward, especially at Rolf's age."

"R-Rolf? Who said anything about Rolf? I was just...I never said anything about...Rolf isn't...I uhh...Rolf um..."

If the way the girl was stuttering and fumbling for words hadn't given it away, the nice shade of red she had turned had. Reaching over Titania, Lucia placed her hand on Mist's leg.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Titania was just taking a guess," she winked at the other woman before continuing, "You haven't made it that obvious, if Rolf is the one that you do like."

"Oh, yes," Titania piped up, "It was just a guess after all."

"O-Of course. So, umm, if you don't mind me asking, who were your first crushes?"

Titania pondered on that for a moment before turning to the girl, "First crushes or first _real_ crushes?"

"First real crushes."

"Oh, well..." the scarlet-haired woman trailed off, turning her gaze to the tent's wall. She didn't really think that it would be appropriate to tell Mist of her first real crush, as it wasn't even an appropriate crush.

Receiving no reply from Titania, Mist turned to Queen Elincia's bodyguard, "Lucia?"

"Well, he was an older man...quite a bit older actually. Everyone probably would have laughed at me had they known, but, well...it honestly didn't matter to me."

"So what happened?"

"Nothing really. It was just a silly phase that ended after the attack on Crimea."

"Oh, okay." Beginning to feel a bit embarrassed over asking this, she added, "I should probably go help Oscar prepare the evening meal now. Thanks, Lucia...and Titania."

The girl waited a moment to give her friend time to reply, but when the woman said nothing, she got up and left the tent. Once she was gone, Lucia waved her hand in front of Titania's face. The woman jumped back and turned to face the younger Crimean.

"Oh, hm? Where's Mist?"

"She just left...were you even paying attention?"

"Of course I was! I listened to your entire story about falling in love with a man that was so much older than you. Really, it isn't a good idea to fall for someone that is both your teacher and twenty-some years older."

Lucia stood up and shrugged. "At least he wasn't married."

The paladin stared at the younger woman in shock. How would she know about _that_? The azure-haired sword-wielder rolled her eyes before turning and disappearing from the tent.

Titania sighed, "Commander Greil..."

--

Soren snapped his Arcwind tome shut and laid it on his desk. He had finally mastered it completely and felt he would be able to perform to his fullest tomorrow when they approached Daein troops. With all luck the battle would go as planned--they would be able to take out the Silver-Haired Maiden and put an end to Daein's only hope.

His plan for the next day was rather simple actually--it wasn't intricate like some of his others. The troops would be split into three groups--one containing Skrimir and his cat clan, along with Mist and Boyd; Tibarn and his hawks, along with Rhys and Titania; and then the main force with Ike at its head.

Their objective was to take out as many of the forces as possible to reduce the enemy's morale. The key to absolutely crushing that morale was taking out their leader herself. If things went well, Micaiah would be either killed or taken into custody, forcing her troops to retreat.

It sounded simple, but he knew that if one person messed up everything would go downhill. They couldn't achieve their goal if everyone didn't perform to their fullest--if they didn't show their true ability. Hopefully people like Boyd and Gatrie wouldn't go goofing off, but only time could tell.

--

The sage smacked another halberdier with his wind tome, being careful to dodge the man's lance. He quickly pulled out one of his fire tomes to scorch an oncoming beast laguz. Sure being a magic-wielder and being able to use all kinds of different tomes had its advantages, but switching from tome to tome always wore him out. Multiple times had he pulled out the wrong tome and had nearly been killed, but he guessed it was worth it if he could blast enemies with the forces of nature.

He quickly raised his Physic staff to heal a nearby hawk that Rhys hadn't gotten to yet. The three forces had just met up in front of the veteran soldiers that were once known as friends to most of them. Glancing at all of the faces, Soren was a bit disappointed to see that Micaiah was not amongst them.

He reopened his Arcfire tome and set a wolf laguz that had charged at him on fire. The mage could only watch as his comrades fought with those who had once been on their team. He noticed that the enemy lines held multiple figures he recognized--that wyvern-riding redhead, the skilled swordmaster who had once fallen for a laguz, and the white-clad general, among others.

Looking around, he also noticed Ike leaving the battlefield. What was going on? Before he knew it, the violet-haired swordswoman ran over to him, putting her sword back in its sheath. He turned to her, noting that she was out of breath. Once she had regained her composure, he raised his eyebrow.

"Mia, what's going on?"

"I-I think Ike and Boyd are taking Mist back because she collapsed. Honestly, I'm not too sure, but I think it's something like that."

"I see. Then we're on our own here. But we should fight on and try to eliminate our foe while they are gone."

"Yes, of course, Soren!"

--

Mist had indeed collapsed on that day, nearly scaring everyone in the camp to death. Later on they had found out that the being that had been deemed as the 'dark god' had been released, and had joined their cause, in hopes of freeing everyone from stone.

Everyone had been divided into three groups--specifically chosen by Soren. Micaiah lead one group through a desert route; Tibarn and Elincia controlled a group headed through a swamp area. The last group, Soren's group, was lead by General Ike and contained the whole of the Greil Mecenaries, as Soren found the group to have better performance when all intact.

They had all finally met up in front of the Tower of Guidance in Sienne, and it was now Soren's job to decide who would join Ike to battle the goddess. He wasn't alone in this task, as Lucia, Bastian, and Tauroneo had been chosen as some of the more capable strategists in the field.

It was predetermined that Ike, Micaiah, Sothe, Sanaki, Ena, and Prince Kurthnaga would enter the tower, along with a member of the heron tribe--which they had decided would be Reyson--leaving them with ten remaining slots.

Soren had urged Lucia to go, but the woman had declined, saying that she was needed to remain at the base and take care of a certain dark-haired knight, who didn't exactly know that he was never considered to enter the tower, due to his current condition. It was decided that Elincia would go in the swordswoman's place, though the girl was a bit concerned by that. Her worry was understandable, and Soren declared that the girl's brother would go along as the queen's bodyguard.

After choosing King Tibarn, King Caineghis, Queen Nailah, Jill, Kieran, and Marcia, they were all debating on the remaining two slots. The raven-haired Arch Sage drummed his fingers against his desk impatiently as he watched Lucia bite her fingernails. Suddenly, the woman looked up at him.

"Soren, why don't you go? You are our best wind sage, after all...though that really doesn't say much..." the woman glanced at Count Bastian, who pretended to be offended by her remark.

"Well, Milady, what I lack in skill, I make up for in good looks, don't you agree?"

"...I don't agree, Count..."

"Well, I never! For--"

The swordmistress placed a finger to the man's lips and turned back to Soren.

"Well, what'll it be?"

"Normally I wouldn't, but seeing as Elincia is the only healer that is going, and not a single mage at that, I suppose I'll have to."

"Good, we only have one slot left...how about Mia?" Tauroneo questioned them.

Lucia replied with, "I don't see why not," before removing her index finger from Bastian's lips, permitting him to speak.

"The tides would fare well with someone nearly as skilled and beautiful as Lucia on the team."

The swordswoman rolled her eyes and turned to Soren for the answer he had not yet given. However, she would have to wait for the reply, as he was deep in thought, pondering over whether or not he would like Mia to accompany them.

Sure she was skilled and a good choice, but what if any harm befell her? But staying here would be just as dangerous... He supposed that if she was to perish, he would rather be there to try to prevent it. That was a foolish thought though...surely she wouldn't do anything risky, but it _was_ Mia he was talking about. Wait a second, why did he care so much?

"Soren...?"

"Oh, yes...I mean, I think she should...no, she certainly should... Yes; my answer is yes."

Tauroneo and Lucia both had confusion spread across their features, though this was more obvious in the older general. Bastian chuckled slightly, causing Soren to glare at him.

"Is something funny, Bastian?"

"Ah, indeed something is that is humorous to mine ears. Respecting your privacy however, state this I shall not."

"Right... I will inform Ike of our decision then."

Soren quickly dashed out of his own tent, a bit frightened by the look the older sage was giving him. Whatever it was that the man knew, the younger man realized that he hadn't even figured it out for himself yet. He wasn't able to tell his true feelings and, possibly, he never would.

But regardless, tomorrow they would all enter the tower and decide the fate of humanity. Beorc and laguz alike would fight for peace, for restoration. The deeds they would carry out, the crimes they would commit... He couldn't bear to think about what could happen to them. But no matter what, he knew he would protect Mia.

--

The battle had been won. Their final fight fought. Peace had returned to the land; everyone was back to normal. Honestly, he should be happy, but for some reason...he couldn't find such joy as the rest of the company expressed.

Nothing seemed right to him anymore...perhaps it never would. Perhaps without providing tactics for such large battles he was useless. But he couldn't really imagine there would be many more wars in the near future here on Tellius.

Realizing this, he once again picked up the note Ike had left for him. If the commander, the only person Soren had truly ever trusted, was to leave this land, maybe he should accompany him like the notes asks. Surely there would be more adventures awaiting in distant places. Surely no one would truly miss him...

Yes, that is what it shall be, what he shall do. He will be able to be with Ike, to serve him, for the rest of his life. He owed him that much at least.

--

Today was the worst day in Mia's life. She honestly couldn't believe this was happening... A tear slowly slid down her face as she watched Ike and Soren board the boat that would take them from the land of Tellius. She stared at the back of his robe as he climbed higher up the ramp, becoming farther and farther away from where she stood.

Though she didn't take her eyes off of him the whole time, she could sense everyone else's sadness as well. The whole army had gathered to watch the two depart on their journey. All of the royals were there, from the queen and king of Crimea to the queen of Hatari.

The mercenary company was, naturally, all there. Shinon didn't seem too upset on the outside, though everyone suspected it was really much different than that on the inside. Titania seemed to take the news fairly well--she realized that the two men leaving was just a part of them growing up. Mist was clearly heartbroken, but Rolf was providing her with his shoulder to cry on.

Nephenee and Brom, too, had come with their families from Ohma. In fact, nearly the whole farming village was present, as they felt that they owed it to Ike for saving Crimea all those years ago. Nephenee had a similar reaction as Mia, and now that she no longer wore her helmet, tears could been seen streaming down her face as the blue-haired commander boarded the ship.

When everyone that was sailing off had climbed up and settled onto the ship, everyone watched as Ike waved to them, with Soren by his side, disappearing off into the horizon. Mia felt even more tears escape her green orbs as her love's outline melted in with the darkening sky, disappearing from her view forever.

She couldn't stand this any longer. She didn't care if everyone was staring at her...she had to do something. But she soon realized that she couldn't move, not even an inch. She was powerless to stop him from leaving her for eternity. She couldn't change his mind...

Suddenly, her world went black as she collapsed to the ground, receiving many gasps from the onlookers. This didn't matter to her, however. Soren was the only one she cared for, and now...he was gone.

--

The woman awoke to a light rapping on her door. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes before climbing out of bed and attempting to find her way through her room in the dark. Considering the room was flooded in darkness, she must have been out for quite some time, as it was only early morning when they had waved the two men off.

The knocking continued, louder now, as she fumbled about, stumbling over things and nearly knocking some glass objects onto the stone floor. Had she done that, she knew that she would be scolded by Mist for ruining something that 'contained so much beauty.'

Finally reaching the door, she felt around for the knob, and, upon finding it, slowly pulled the barrier open a crack. It was then pushed open from the outside, moving aside to reveal a cloaked man, illuminated by the torchlight.

"Soren!" she could barely contain herself from throwing her arms around him and squeezing him to death.

"Nice to see you again too, Mia," he walked past her into the room and sat down at a small table in the corner, as if nothing had even happened.

The young woman followed suit, pulling out another chair and taking a seat next to him. They sat in silence for a moment, neither looking at the other, but both itching to ask a thousand questions that they knew they shouldn't dare to ask. Finally, when she could take it no longer, the swordswoman spoke up.

"Soren, what are you doing back here?"

"Well, thinking it over, I decided that leaving was quite a foolish move. I know that you all can't survive without your brilliant, as I've heard it put, tactician--especially with Mist in charge...what was Ike thinking?"

She attempted to put on a serious face, as she turned to look at him.

"Soren, Ike doesn't think. You know that."

"So he doesn't..."

They sat in another awkward silence as both scanned their minds for something to say to the other. Mia knew that what she wanted to say wasn't appropriate...honestly, she probably couldn't even begin to put it in words, but it was how she felt.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the man spoke up, "Honestly, I missed all of you a tad bit...but only a tad."

The girl smiled at his comment, touched that he would actually share his feelings with her. She knew it was a hard thing for him to do, it always had been. And though it was only one little confession, it was a start.

"...I especially missed you."

She spun around to meet his gaze. Once again, neither spoke as they stared into each other's eyes. Her green eyes melted into his red ones, perfectly contrasting one another. After a few moments, the Branded mage broke their gaze, turning his eyes to the floor.

"But I came back solely because I knew the company needed me, I swear."

"Of course you did, Soren."

She pressed her lips lightly against his left cheek, an act she was sure she would later be scolded for. Instead of becoming angry with her, however, Mia was surprised to find his arm around her, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

When their lips finally parted, the girl rested her head against the man's chest contently.

_So there really are happy endings..._

_--_

_A/N: Wow, pretty lame ending... I'm still not sure how I did on this, since I don't know how a Mia/Soren would work out. I should have read some before attempting this, but, well, I didn't think of that until now. I do know that the transition from the end of the war to him leaving was a bit rough, but that's honestly the only thing I could think of at the moment. _

_Oh, and as for Lucia's crush...we'll just leave that up to your imagination. *cough* It's Renning. *cough*_

_Well, feel free to let me know what you think..._


End file.
